Rules For Your Medical CV – 4/1/2014

Follow these medical CV guidelines to highlight your best skills and accomplishments.

Academic and education environments tend to use the word curriculum vitae, or CV, more
frequently than resume. But, a CV’s purpose is the same: to get you a job.

The keys to a successful CV are brevity and a stellar list of accomplishments. Assemblying
the information shouldn’t be a burden: if you don’t already have a digital record, consider
creating one that can be easily updated. A software tool called Pivio, developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), helps medical students keep all that information straight.

More types of information than a resume.

You may wish to group some of these together in broader categories. After contact
information, most often a physician’s CV will include:

Also, if you’re a foreign medical graduate, list your citizenship/visa status. Being
forthcoming shows a potential employer that you are honest and, if necessary, ready to make
the visa process as smooth as possible for them.

Highlight your training, experience, and qualifications.

Within categories, a reverse chronological format for the medical CV is standard. For
residents, the most prominent category should be medical education. List the name of your
medical school, its location (city and state or country), your degree, and year of
completion. Include as much detail as possible. Also list internships, with area of
specialization, facility, location, and year of completion. Include the same information for
residencies and fellowships.

As in a resume, outline your employment history in reverse chronological order. Experts say
if you must clarify any career or practice changes, put that information briefly in the
cover letter, rather than the CV.

Under “Certification” you may list boards and national examinations taken, with dates.
“Licensure” of course includes the states in which you currently hold a license to practice
medicine.

It’s acceptable to list references: at least three and no more than six, with name, title, and contact information.

Format.

Try to keep your CV to three pages. If you run out of space, it’s okay to alert reviewers to
your publications, research grants, continuing medical education, and presentations with a
line stating “additional information (or qualifications) available upon request."

Before you send it, double-check for accuracy: CV errors may eliminate you from
consideration. And although it may be tempting, don’t inflate your CV. The Society for Human Resource Management found in a survey that as many as 60 percent of human resource
professionals discover "inaccuracies" within the resumes that they review.